Into the Future
by muzicfuelsme
Summary: Author's Note: Second part of "Back to the Past". Tara returns to the past to tell Danny that his evil self has escaped from the Fenton Thermos in Clockwork's tower and now started a ghost zone war. It's up to Danny Phantom and his friends to save their family from the biggest, baddest ghost the world has ever seen.
1. Chapter 1

IT'S HERE. The continuation of _Back to the Past_.

Why has Evil Danny started a war? Will our heroes visit the future? What will happen between Tara and Tucker? Will Danny and Sam ever get a chance to be alone without a ghost interrupting them?!

Let's find out…

(Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon own "Danny Phantom" and the original characters. I own this story and the new characters I've added in. Please do not copy without my permission.)

xxxxxx

"He's escaped, Danny. And now he's started an all-out war."

Danny's whole body froze. Not a sound escaped from his mouth, even though his jaw had dropped. The sound of his rapid heartbeat pounded in his ears.

The voices of his friends seemed so far away when they appeared behind him.

"Tara?" Sam said in amazement. She then grinned. "Tara! I can't believe it's you!"

"Tara!" Tucker said as he ran up to her and pulled her into a tight hug, even lifting her up slightly from the ground.

"Yeah, it's me," she said with a laugh.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Have your parents eased up? Are they letting you visit us?" Tucker said.

Tara bit her lip. "I wish that was the case."

Sam's face dropped. "Then why are you here? What's going on?"

"Did something bad happen?" Tucker said.

"Um…"

"Yes," Danny finally whispered. "Something really bad happened."

They all looked at Danny, who was staring at the ground.

After a while, someone finally walked up to him and held his hand.

"What happened?" Sam said.

"…My evil self escaped from Clockwork's castle."

She dropped his hand. "No…"

"Well, we've kicked his butt once before. We can do it again, right?" Tucker said.

"Hello! Earth to Tucker! We barely made it out alive last time!" Sam yelled.

"That's not all," Tara said. "He's declared war on the ghost zone."

"What? How can he do that?!" Tucker said.

"Follow me; my dad will explain everything," Tara said, and she ran off.

The others quickly followed.

xxxxxx

Not too far from the DMV, Tara led the group through a narrow alley, where the light of the day barely illuminated their path.

"Wait, where's the time machine?" Tucker said when they reached the tall brick wall at the end.

"My grandparents—your parents, Danny—came the other day to our house to give us this."

Tara extended her arm to reveal a silver band, with a small green ray on the top, around her wrist.

"What is that?" Danny said.

"My grandmother was able to take the same technology from the time machine and basically shrink down its size. This ray can open _time portals_."

"That is _so_ cool!" Tucker said.

"I know, right? Come on; my dad's waiting on the other side," Tara said. She aimed her hand at the wall and pressed a couple of buttons on her wristband.

"'Come on'? As in, into the future with you?" Sam said.

A blue beam shot out onto the wall. In front of them opened an opaque, oval-shaped portal.

"Yup," Tara said.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker looked at each other unnervingly.

"Uh," Danny said. "Don't we need those time-traveling suits or something?"

"Nope, my grandmother made these rays and portals safer for travel."

Tara then turned and saw her friends' worried faces.

"Guys, relax. This is super safe, trust me. Dad wouldn't have given this to me if he hadn't tested it out first."

"Your dad came to the past? When?" Tucker said.

"A few days ago, I think. Not for very long, of course. It was in and out, just to see if it worked. Now let's go, before someone spots us."

Danny took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this."

"You guys go first—when I go in, the portal will close behind me," Tara said.

"Oh, great. No warming up, huh? Just dive right in?" Tucker said.

"That's the idea!" Tara said.

The three walked to the front, where the blue light from the portal shone in their faces.

"Ready?" Danny said nervously.

He took Sam and Tucker's hands, and together, they jumped in.

xxxxxxx

"AAAHH—oof!"

The trio fell onto a hard, gray floor.

Danny opened his eyes to find someone in red Converse shoes and blue jeans right in front of him.

A large hand with a silver wedding ring reached out to him.

"Need some help up?" his future self said with a kind smile.

"Nah, I got it. Thanks," Danny said as he stood up and stretched.

Sam took his hand.

"I think I landed on my arm. Ow," she said as she got up. Her right arm was curled up against her chest.

"How bad does it hurt?" future Danny asked.

"I think it'll be fine. Thank you, though." She massaged her arm with her other hand.

Tara then strolled in through the portal, and it disappeared behind her.

"Hey guys! See, it wasn't so…oh. Yeah, probably should've told you to just walk through. Sorry about that."

Tucker got onto his feet and looked around.

"Hey, you guys don't have a ghost portal?" he said.

"We do. But like these time rays, we made the ghost portal mobile in the form of gloves," Tara said.

"Ghost portal gloves…man, the technology of the future is insane," Danny said.

"We still have the main portal at my grandparents'."

"Did she make it back?" a young female voice called from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, Tara's here with our past selves," future Danny yelled back.

Vanessa ran down the stairs.

"Whoa," she said as she walked up to Tucker. "That's my dad from the past?"

"Whoa, you're my daughter in the future?"

"Sure am! I'm Vanessa." She extended her hand out for a handshake.

"Can I get a hug?" he said with a chuckle.

"You totally can."

She dropped her hand and opened her arms. He reached in for the hug.

"Wow! This is the coolest and yet weirdest thing I've ever done in my entire life!" he exclaimed.

"Trust me, your lives will only get cooler and weirder from here."

Everyone looked over at future Sam, who was leaning against the handrail.

"Sam! I didn't hear you come down the stairs," future Danny said as she walked to him.

"What can I say? I'm sneaky like that."

"Uh, hi Sam," younger Danny said as his cheeks turned red.

Sam smiled at him, making him blush even more.

"Hey there, Danny." She looked towards the rest of the group. "I hate to break up this tender moment, but I just got Megan down for her nap. The time to talk is now."

"Right. Let's go upstairs," future Danny said.

They followed him up the stairs to the living room.

Mounted on the wall was a flat screen television, as well as wooden shelves of DVDs and books. Turquoise couches circled around a small coffee table, and on the blue, carpeted floor laid stuffed animals and colorful blocks.

"Vanessa, hit the shades. We don't want anyone looking in," future Sam said.

"You got it, Mama." Vanessa ran for the windows behind the couches.

"Mama?" younger Danny asked Tara, while Sam and Tucker looked at her with confusion.

"Oh, uh…" She then lowered her voice. "Mrs. Foley died when Vanessa was really young. Ever since then, my mom's kind of been like her mom too. She's the only motherly figure Vanessa has."

"Oh…that's so sad," Tucker said.

"Sit down," future Sam said to the teenagers, and they sat on the couches.

"So…what's going on?" younger Danny said.

Future Danny sighed. "It's like this…

"We gave it a while before going back in the ghost zone. After all, we were in panic-mode the whole time Tara disappeared. We needed a little break. But then, weird things started happening."

"Ghosts were disappearing," future Sam said. "Our allies within the ghost zone started coming to us with news of ghosts going missing."

"Allies like Wulf," future Danny said. "He thought something was up when he noticed ghosts like Fright Night, Hotep-Ra, and even Bertrand were nowhere to be found."

"That's when we traveled back to Clockwork's tower."

"It was a _mess_. There were gears, bells, time medallions…pretty much everything was all over the place. Sam and I looked around for any clues of what might've happened. Then, we heard someone calling us."

"I followed the sound to find the Fenton Thermos stuck under a gear. When I opened it up, out came Clockwork and all his assistants. He yelled, 'We have to go after him! We have to find him!'"

"Apparently, my evil self managed to topple the Thermos off the table it was on. It landed right on the 'release' button, setting him free."

"Whoa," younger Danny said. "I've been inside the Thermos plenty of times, and that thing's pretty hard to budge."

"Well, remember, he is the strongest ghost we've ever faced," future Danny said.

"Clockwork tried to get him back inside," future Sam said. "He even called in reinforcements. But Dark Danny was stronger than them. _Much_ stronger."

"I think he got more powerful in the Thermos. I don't know how."

"We promised Clockwork we'd begin our search the next morning. We came home and then…"

"We saw Frostbite in our living room."

"Megan gave this, like, _ear-piercing_ scream when he appeared," Tara interjected. "Well, I mean, who wouldn't? The guy has a skeleton ice-arm!"

"Wait, what was he doing there?" younger Danny asked.

"He came to warn us about my evil self…and to urge our family to go into hiding," future Danny said.

"What? But why?!"

"It seems that after Dark Danny escaped from the Fenton Thermos, he went to Pariah's Keep. He stole the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, and obliterated Pariah Dark in the process."

" _Obliterated_? What do you mean by _obliterated_?"

"Have you ever wondered what happens to ghosts when they die? Well, I am you, so I _know_ you've thought about it before.

"One thing we know for sure is ghosts are immortal. Some can grow and look physically older, while others stay the way they look forever. But just because ghosts are immortal doesn't mean they can't be killed.

"They don't exactly 'die' like humans do, leaving something solid, like a body, behind. They simply vanish into thin air. _Poof_. Gone.

"My guess is that's all that happens to them. I don't think there's an 'afterlife' for ghosts. This whole process is what we call 'obliteration.'"

"So, Pariah Dark is gone? No more?"

"Exactly. Now Dark Danny is King of All of Ghosts, and he's stronger than ever before."

"Great. As if his normal self wasn't hard enough to battle."

"It gets worse. Frostbite told us the reason why ghosts have been disappearing is because they're _allying_ with Dark Danny.

"He wants to not just be King of ghosts, but King _of the human world too_. He's willing to fight a bloody war for that title, and he's guaranteeing all who fight with him will become rulers in the ghost zone or the human world."

"He is meeting some serious opposition in the ghost zone, though," future Sam said. "Those who are against Dark Danny are calling themselves 'The Resistance'. That should delay taking the fight to our world."

"But I think his motives are deeper than just wanting total world domination," future Danny said. "I think he wants revenge on not just me, but everyone who foiled his plans and locked him in the Thermos for all those years. Everyone includes Sam and Tucker. Frostbite agrees, which is why he wanted us all to hide."

Younger Danny hung his head and rubbed his temples.

"This is bad. This is really, _really_ bad…"

"So what are you going to do? Why did you need us?" younger Sam said.

Future Sam looked at her husband.

"We've decided…we're not going to hide," she said. "And by we, I mean Danny, Tucker, and I aren't going to hide…But Tara, Megan, and Vanessa will."

Tara shot her head towards her mother.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me. Your dad and I are going to fight alongside The Resistance. We are not dragging you into this. You need to stay with Vanessa and your sister."

"But I can fight too! You'll need all the help you can get!"

"No, it's too dangerous. We're not willing to risk your life, Tara."

"But…"

"Trust us, Tara. Please."

Tara sighed and sunk into the couch.

"And the reason why we called you over is…well, honestly, we think they'd be safer hiding in a different time. Dark Danny doesn't know we're in contact with our younger selves. He wouldn't think to look in the past."

"I'll fight with The Resistance too," younger Danny said.

"No way, dude! You're needed at home!" Tucker said.

"Tucker's right," future Danny said. "You three _have_ to stay safe. If any of you die, think about how that will rewrite the future. There wouldn't be Vanessa, or Tara and Megan."

"Oh, man. That'll mess up the whole timeline," younger Danny said.

"To say the very least."

"I'm on board with this plan," younger Sam said.

"Same here," Tucker said.

"I promise I'll protect Tara, Megan, and Vanessa with everything I've got," younger Danny said. "Count me in."

xxxxxxxxx

 _In the future, later that evening…_

Future Sam knelt in front of the cabinet underneath the sink. She tossed various items out of it—a hair dryer, extra shaving cream, small boxes of soap.

"No, no, no! This can't be happening. Where did I put it?" she mumbled.

On the other side of the closed bathroom door, a single lamp illuminated the bedroom in almost a yellow color.

Danny, who was in his pajamas and on top of their bed, looked towards the bathroom.

"I think that went well," he said.

"Me too," he could hear her say.

"I'm glad they said yes to the idea. I don't know where we could've sent the girls if they didn't agree."

 _Clank!_ "Yeah, we don't have much family outside of the U.S."

"I think we should leave soon, though," he continued. "I'll make arrangements at my work so that I can be gone for a while. I'll also call the girls' schools."

Sam's gray pajama pants and black underwear dropped to the floor, and she walked towards the toilet.

"Thanks, Danny."

"I'll grab as many weapons as I can get for The Resistance. We could use our home as a base for them."

Silence in the bathroom.

"I'm not going to tell anyone at work what's going on in the ghost zone. I don't want to start a panic. Right, Sam?"

No answer.

"…Sam? What do you think?"

Still no answer came from the bathroom. Danny sat up on the bed.

"Sam? Are you okay in there?…Sam! Say something please?"

Finally, Sam opened the door. Her eyes were wide.

She shut the door and leaned against it. Her arms crossed her stomach.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

"This can't be happening. Not now, not like this…" she whispered.

"Sam, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

Sam gulped.

"Danny, I wasn't feeling well all day today."

"You weren't feeling well like how? Stomachache? Cold?"

"I'm also late."

"Late? What do you mean by-"

Suddenly, Danny froze. His eyes became as big as Sam's.

She sank to the floor.

"No way…It-it's not possible."

"It is. Danny… _I'm pregnant_."


	2. Chapter 2

xxxxxxx

Back in the present time, Tucker shuffled through papers in his office while holding a phone between his right ear and shoulder.

"Yes, yes, I'll be there to cut the ribbon for the new library…I'll have one of my staff members write a speech for me…"

There was a knock at the door. Then, an older woman in a business suit opened the door.

"Mr. Foley? Danny Fenton is here to see you."

"Hang on, Mrs. Miller." Tucker covered the microphone part of the phone. "Thanks, Linda. Send him in."

Danny walked in, and Linda closed the door behind him. He took a seat on the other side of Tucker's massive desk.

"Uh-huh…yeah…of course…Great, see you then. Bye." He hung up the phone and leaned back in his seat.

"Dude, I'm exhausted," he groaned.

"You sound like it. How long have you been working today?"

"I don't know. Since 8 am."

"Tucker, it's 3 o'clock."

Tucker reached for his smartphone on his desk and pressed its home button.

"Oh. So it is."

"Have you even had lunch yet?"

"What's lunch?" Tucker said with a laugh.

"Okay, yeah, you need to eat. Let's go."

"Fine." Tucker pressed the button to the intercom on his desk. "Linda?"

The assistant came in. "Yes, Mr. Foley?"

"I'm going on my lunch break now. I should be back in an hour or so."

"Very good, Mr. Foley. Enjoy your lunch."

"She seems nice," Danny said as Linda closed the door.

"She's very helpful. I'm ready to go. Are we flying?"

"I don't know when's the last time you've looked out your window, but it's a beautiful day today. Let's walk."

Tucker shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

As soon as they opened the main door to City Hall, the sunlight hit their eyes, making Tucker shield his face.

"Whoa! Gonna need some time for my eyes to adjust."

Danny chuckled. "Welcome back to the outside world, Tuck."

"Hey, where's Sam? She's not coming with us?"

"Nah, she's hanging out at the Skulk and Lurk. Too much heat…or Sun in general."

They continued walking and passed the entrance to the park.

"Hey, wait! Is it just me, or does that girl look like Tara to you?" Tucker said.

Danny looked where Tucker was pointing and saw a teen with long black hair sitting on a swing. She swung ever so slightly, kicking her feet underneath her. She looked at the ground.

"I think it is…" he said.

They walked to her.

"Yo, Tara!" Tucker said as he took the swing next to her.

She looked up and sadly smiled.

"Hey, you okay?" Danny said.

"Yeah," Tara said. "I was just…thinking, I guess."

"About?" Tucker said.

She shrugged. "This whole thing about hiding. My parents. Ever since our meeting a couple of days ago, I've noticed they've been arguing when they think Meg and I are sleeping. Not fighting, of course; they _never_ fight. Sometimes they argue, but usually they come up with an answer together and don't argue about it again. Whatever they're arguing about this time, though, doesn't really seem to have an answer.

"I don't know exactly what they're talking about, but I think Dad doesn't want Mom to fight with him and The Resistance anymore. He's saying things like, 'Things are different now; you have to stay with Tara and Megan in the past!' And Mom's like, 'I'm not leaving you to fight alone. I might back off a bit, but I'm not leaving your side!' And then Dad's all like, 'You're being irresponsible!'

"I don't know what's changed all of a sudden, and I don't know if there's anything I can do to help."

"My guess is this is all grown-up stuff that you don't need to get involved in," Danny said. "I'm really sorry you heard all that, though."

Tucker rested his hand on top of Tara's, on her lap. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"I know you're probably thinking you should help fight," Tucker said. "But remember that Megan needs you. You don't want her to deal with being in the past alone without her sister, right?"

Tara smiled. "It's like you can read my mind."

Suddenly, a large human shadow blocked the Sun from them.

"Hey sweet stuff," Dash said with a football in his hands. "What're you doing hanging out with these _nerds_ again?"

Tara groaned. "Eww, not you again."

"You should hang out with me and my buddies," he said as he pointed to the group of guys behind him. "We're just practicing some football. You can sit and watch me and my awesome, winning moves."

"I'd rather eat garbage from a dumpster than hang out with you."

"Aw, come on, sweetness. I know you don't mean that. With your beautiful looks and having me, King of Casper High, as your boyfriend, you'd be on the A-list in no time!"

Tucker stood up from the swing and got right in front of Dash.

"She said _no_."

"Whoa there, Foley! Finally grew a pair, huh?"

Tucker pointed a finger at Dash. "You stay away from her. Or else."

"Or else _what_?" Dash stepped forward towards Tucker with a wicked grin.

Tucker looked up at his face with wavering confidence.

Suddenly, Tucker clenched his jaw. He lifted his arms and pushed Dash back, knocking him a few steps back.

Dash stabilized himself and looked back at Tucker in shock.

"Get it?" Tucker said.

"Tucker!" Tara hopped off the swing and grabbed his arm.

Dash brushed his jacket. "Yeah, whatever. I've got a whole line of girls wanting me anyways. I'm bored of this chasing game." He walked back to his friends.

"Tucker, are you insane?! He could've totally sued you, the _mayor_ , for pushing a citizen!" Danny said.

"He's not smart enough to know that," Tucker said.

"Tucker," Tara said softly, "I didn't need you to do that. I could've taken care of it by myself."

"Yeah, well…" He then sighed. "I don't know what came over me. Sorry, Tara."

She hugged him from behind. "It's okay."

xxxxxxx

A blue portal opened in the living room of Tara's home. She walked through it.

"Mom? Dad?" she called out as the portal vanished.

No response. She walked past the door that led to the basement, when suddenly her ghost sense went off. Tara turned back and opened it.

"I can't believe you're willing to fight with us, despite our history together," she could hear her father say.

"Hey, he stole Bertrand from me," a voice said. "Nobody steals my personal assistant."

Tara closed the door behind her and tiptoed ever so quietly down the stairs.

"He broke the rules by waking Pariah Dark from the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. He will be punished," a deep, manly voice with a Southern accent boomed.

"And I don't want to be ruled by some stupid _adult_ ," a kid's voice cried. "I rule myself!"

Tara peered into the next room.

There, surrounding a large desk in the middle of the room, were her mother and father, as well as some of the ghosts she had heard about from her parents' stories: Youngblood, Walker, Penelope Spectra, Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, Sidney Poindexter, Ember McLain, and Pandora with a white owl on her shoulder.

"He's a bully and needs to be stopped," Poindexter said.

A small blue ghost with black pigtails popped up between a grown-up Box Ghost and Lunch Lady.

"He will feel me and my family's fury!" she screeched.

"Hush, puddin'," Lunch Lady said. "Use your inside voice."

"Sorry, Momma…" Box Lunch said as she floated back behind her parents.

"Now, we currently have a ghostly fleet led by Skulktech 9.9 along these trails," Pandora said as she pointed to the map on the desk. "They've done an excellent job of clearing the path of Dark Danny's troops. We should be able to meet up with them there and help them defeat more of the enemy army."

"Until we finally reach Dark Danny…" Ember said.

Box Lunch came out from behind her parents again. "And then we take away the crown and the ring!"

"Be quiet, dearie, or else we won't let you come with us," Box Ghost said.

"I'm sorry, Papa…" She descended once again.

"Right, as I was saying…" Pandora said. "Once we reach Dark Danny, we'll take him down and obliterate him."

"You can each take a weapon and spread the remainder among the fleet," Sam said.

"Perfect," Pandora said. She looked at her owl. "Angel?"

The owl turned its head. "Yes, my lady?"

"Angel, my most trusted friend…I need you to stay to here until the Fentons are ready to move out."

"Actually, it's not exactly the 'Fentons.' I kept my maiden name," Sam said.

"Oh, yes, of course." Pandora turned back to Angel. "I'll take the new soldiers with me to the fleet."

"My lady," he said, "I will honor your request. Please stay safe."

"You too," she said and hugged her feathered friend. Angel then fluttered onto Danny's shoulder.

"Let's go," Pandora said to the ghosts, and they disappeared.

"Are they going back to your parents' portal?" Sam asked.

"I guess," Danny said. He then looked at Sam.

"You can still change your mind, if you want," Danny said.

"Again with this, Danny? Really?"

"Sam, _please_. I'm begging you. Don't do this."

"I'm an adult, Danny! I can make my own decisions!"

She then turned towards the stairs. Tara turned invisible, and her mother walked right through her.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, lovely people! I am SO terribly sorry I haven't updated in a while. Life has been crazy these past two months, and it's not a good kind of crazy. For example, I've been sick with the flu for almost a week. But at least the good news is I don't have a fever anymore! Yaaaay! Eh, but who cares about that. Onto the story!

xxxxxxxx

 _ **Amity Park: Present Day…**_

Danny sat on the bench outside of the DMV with his hands fisted under his chin. He stared with a vacant expression at the parking lot.

"They're sure taking a while."

Sam looked at him and pulled out an earbud. The sounds of the screeching electric guitars and screamo singing pierced the air.

"What was that, Danny?"

He blinked a couple of times. "Huh? What?"

"Did you say something?"

"Oh, uh…I think I said they were taking a long time."

"Yeah, all this waiting's a little boring." She handed him her earbud. "Here."

He smiled and accepted the earbud. "Thanks, but do you mind turning it down a notch? I think I'll go deaf in my left ear listening to it this loud."

"I like this volume. It helps me to tune out the world."

"Well, when the music's this loud, what else can you focus on?"

She shrugged and closed her eyes again.

Suddenly, Danny spotted a blue, four-door sedan driving into the lot.

"Looks like Tucker's back."

Sam snapped her eyes open. "Really? Maybe he passed!"

The car inched into an empty parking space and stopped. After a few minutes, the car doors flung open, and out came Tucker and a small Asian lady.

Tucker threw the door shut.

"Uh oh," Sam said. "That's not a good sign."

Tucker thrust his hands into pockets and walked up to his friends.

"Dude, you okay?" Danny asked.

"I failed the parallel parking portion miserably."

"Oh man…"

"Everything else was going so well! I turned where she wanted me to turn, I used my signals, I stopped at red lights and stop signs, I drove at the speed limit…but then I had to parallel park and, well, I hit the curb. A lot. I scratched up the hub caps pretty bad."

"Aw, Tuck, that sucks," Danny said.

"Parallel parking's the hardest," Sam said. "But hey, at least you get two more chances, am I right?"

"Yeah, I guess, but…darn it, I was so close!" Tucker said.

"Wooooowww," a familiar voice said. "So this is what the past looks like!"

They turned to find a wide-eyed Vanessa behind them, taking in the sights of Amity Park, and Dani right beside her.

"Vanessa? Dani?" Tucker said.

Vanessa looked back at him and grinned. "This is so, totally savvy. Everything's _so_ retro!"

"Vanessa, what are you doing here?" Danny said.

Dani shrugged her shoulders. "She showed up by the house and asked me where you guys were!"

"I just thought, you know, why does everyone get to see the past, but I don't?" Vanessa said. "So…okay, now don't be mad…last time I saw you all together at Tara's house…I might've _borrowed_ a time portal ray from the basement."

"You _what_?!" Tucker said.

"Borrowed?" Danny said. "Don't you mean _stole_?"

Vanessa put her hands up. "I'll return it once I get back!"

"What is it with our kids and putting their hands on things that don't belong to them?!" Sam exasperated.

"I promise I'll put the ray back! But, hey, do you guys want to see something savvy?"

"Not me," Dani said as she turned back into her ghostly self. "It's my shift. Catch you guys later." She flew off.

"Me neither," Sam said. "Vanessa, if you're thinking of showing us the future, we shouldn't do it. It could mess up the timeline, or…"

"I'm in!" Tucker said and ran off with his future daughter.

"Tucker, wait!" Danny called out.

Sam folded her arms and shook her head.

"I'll go after them, Sam. I'll make sure nothing bad happens." He then followed them.

xxxxxxx

Danny, Tucker, and Vanessa stepped out of the portal onto a hardwood floor. Framed photos hung on light blue-painted walls, and in front of the television were leather couches.

"Where are we?" Danny asked.

"My house. Well, actually, we're in the living room right now," Vanessa said.

She skipped towards a small door and opened up a closet.

"Here," she said as she tossed a couple of sweatshirts towards the boys. "You'll need these if we don't want people to recognize you."

xxxxxxx

Danny, in a black hoodie and dark sunglasses, walked alongside Vanessa down a sidewalk in the city. Tucker, in a white hoodie, trailed behind them.

"Whooooooaaaaa! All these electric cars? Drones? The future's amazing!"

"Shhh! Keep it down, wouldya, Tuck? We don't want to stick out like a sore thumb," Danny said. He pulled the hood even more over his eyes.

"Dude, are you seeing this?" Tucker called out. "There's a hologram person coming out of that guy's cell!"

"Tucker! Shush! _Oomf_!"

Danny crashed into a frozen Vanessa.

"Ow!…Hey, Vanessa, you okay?"

"Oh, man," she said. "Bad news at twelve o'clock."

Danny looked towards the group of teenagers lounging at the end of the block. Right in the middle, a brunette-haired girl with tan skin and dark blue eyes laughed.

"We should cross the street…"

"Who are they?" Danny said.

Vanessa sighed, then quickly glanced at the bunch.

"Okay, that girl in the middle?" she whispered. "Her name is London Baxter."

" _Baxter_? That's one of Paulina and Dash's kids?"

"So that's London," Tucker said.

"Yup. The meanest, little witch…come on, let's just go."

Tucker grabbed Vanessa's wrist before she could walk away.

"No. We're walking right through."

" _Excuse_ me?" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, Tuck, I don't think that's the smartest…" Danny began.

"I don't want some bimbo chick to scare you, Vanessa. She's not even _worth_ your fear. Now I'm going, whether you'll follow me or not." He marched forward.

"Oh, crud!" Vanessa said, and she and Danny followed behind.

The sounds of their conversations grew clearer as the three walked towards the group.

"If you ask me, I bet Paige is _sleeping_ with Mr. Garner to get a good grade," London said.

"Ew, Paige and Mr. Garner?" a tall boy in a baseball cap asked.

"Have you heard that girl talk? She is as dumb as dirt. It's the only explanation I can think of—Hey, Kara, pass me a cig, will ya?"

"Hey, London. Check out the failed drones over here," another boy said.

"Excuse us," Tucker said as he strode through the crowd.

"Ugh, rude!" London said to Tucker, who did not even look back at her.

She then spied Vanessa sneaking through with Danny.

"Hey, Vanna! Where's Tarantula at?" The group of friends burst into laughter.

"Not with me," she murmured.

"Oh, really? For once, you two aren't glued to the hip! I swear, it's almost like you failed drones are a _thing_."

"We're _not_ a thing."

"Don't talk to them," Tucker said. "That's what they want, your attention."

"Yeah, your friend's _a rat_!" a boy in a football jacket said. He turned to London. "Get it? 'Cause, like, her name's 'Tara,' and 'Tara' backwards is 'a rat'?"

"Yes, Aaron, I get it. Now, give me a sip of that beer."


	4. Chapter 4

xxxxxxx

" _This_ is what I wanted to show you," Vanessa said.

Danny and Tucker's eyes grew wide at the sight of the circular, eggshell-white building towering over them. At the top of the structure stood various rays that nearly covered the setting Sun. Rows of windows revealed people hurriedly rushing across the floors. The sign in front of them read "SPECTOR DETECTORS".

"What is all this?" Danny asked.

Vanessa smiled. "Your company."

The front door slid open, and they walked onto the tiled floor.

Behind a wooden desk with the sign "INFO", a woman with long, chestnut hair and wearing rectangular glasses grinned.

"Vanessa! Nice to see you again," she said.

"Thanks, Savannah. How's the baby?"

"Bella is doing well, thank you," she said. "She's learning so many new words! We miss you and your singing at the daycare."

"I promise I'll go back to volunteering once school lightens up. Is Tara…"

"The gym."

"Thanks a bunch, Savannah!"

"Who're your friends?"

Danny and Tucker froze behind Vanessa. Her eyes widened.

"Who? _Oh!_ Them. Right, um, they're from school!"

"Okay. I'll just need their names to sign them in," Savannah said.

"Sure." Vanessa gestured to Tucker. "This is…Teddie."

"Wha—" Tucker started.

"And that's…" Vanessa said as she pointed to Danny, "…that's Darren!"

Danny made a face.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Darren and Teddie," Savannah said. "I hope you enjoy your visit at Spector Detectors."

xxxxxxx

"Teddie? Darren? Are you kidding me?" Tucker asked when the elevator doors closed.

"Hey, they were the first names that popped into mind!" Vanessa said.

"You could've given me a cool name, like _Thor_ or something. Even Ted would've worked! But no! I get the name of a stuffed bear."

"Does it really matter?" Danny said. "What matters is we get in undetected, and we did."

Tucker folded his arms and stared at the changing elevator floor numbers.

 _3…4…_

"So…a company? For what?" Danny asked.

"Ghost fighting, of course. You can't expect your family and yourself to keep fighting ghosts forever, do you? And Amity Park isn't the only place in the world experiencing ghost activity. The company's gonna grow worldwide."

"Whoa. This is unbelievable! And what was that whole daycare thing?"

"Lots of families work here," Vanessa said. "There's a small daycare back on the second floor where employees can drop off their kids. Tara and I volunteer after school."

 _7…8._

The doors opened, and they stepped into a room with people on exercise equipment.

"Here's where the Detectors do their conditioning."

"Okay, who came up with the name?" Tucker said. "It's kinda lame. No offense, Danny."

"Uh…I think that was actually Tara's granddad. Jack, right?" Vanessa said.

"Of course he'd name it that," Danny said with a sigh.

"At least it doesn't have the name 'Fenton' in it, am I right?" Tucker said.

"Let's keep moving," Vanessa said. "Tara's in the back."

She led them past the treadmills and weight machines to the other side of the room, and into a narrow hallway. The hallway ended in a room double the size of the gym; however, the thick, clear walls divided the space into smaller, rectangular rooms.

All of a sudden, they heard a faint, but ground-shaking _Boom!_

"What the heck was that?" Tucker said.

"I think they're in that room," Vanessa said, pointing to the room on their far left.

"They?" Danny asked.

Vanessa ran off, and Danny and Tucker followed quickly behind.

"Come on, is that the best you got?" they could hear.

"Argh!"

"Avoid, then find an opening to strike."

Inside the room, Tara, in her ghost form, floated above her father, who was in his human form. A green and white, ectoplasmic ball materialized in her hand, and she blasted it at him.

With the swipe of his hand, older Danny created a green shield, and the strike bounced off, finally exploding on the wall across from him.

"Try not to aim at the chest. It's a predictable area," he said. He then formed a giant snowball and threw it at Tara.

"Why am I attacking Tara?!" younger Danny said.

"Relax," Vanessa said. "It's just training."

Tara put her hands together, then spread them across her body, forming a circular, flaming blue shield.

"What is that?" younger Danny said.

The snowballs hit Tara's shield and melted.

"Really, really hot fire," Vanessa answered.

Older Danny stretched out his hand to his daughter for a high-five. "Nice work." She dove down and gave him a high-five back.

Suddenly, she spotted the three from the corner of her eye.

"Van? Tucker? Danny?"

She floated towards them, phasing out of the room and appearing in front of them.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"Just wanted to show them how you kick butt," Vanessa said.

Tara laughed. "Savvy."

"You guys shouldn't be here."

Older Danny phased behind Tara. "Vanessa, you shouldn't have brought them here. Having them experience the future firsthand could set the whole timeline off."

"I think that timeline ship has sailed, Dad," Tara said.

"I'm just trying to keep our present as intact as possible," he said.

"So…what was that fire-thing you just did?" Tucker asked.

"You mean my fire powers?" Tara said, cocking an eyebrow.

"You can control fire?!" younger Danny said.

"She's pretty strong, Danny," older Danny said. "She has all of our powers, plus she's developing her own. She just needs to learn how to use and control them."

"Hey! I'm getting better," Tara exclaimed.

"I know," he said and ruffled her hair. He looked back at the trio. "In all honesty, though, I think she's the strongest ghost in our time. She has developed powers I haven't seen before in any other ghost, and she's only 14. I can't even imagine what she'll be like at 15, or 16, or even 20."

"That's amazing," Tucker said.

Suddenly, a white owl phased through the wall and landed on older Danny's shoulder.

"Angel?" older Danny said.

"Danny Phantom, you must follow me at once! Clockwork would like to see you immediately."

"Clockwork? This can't be good…Vanessa, Tara, take Danny and Tucker back to their time. I'll see you at dinner, Tara."

He and Angel then disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

Happy holidays, readers! I hope this holiday season brings you lots of joy. Here's a little Christmas gift from me to you :-)

xxxxxx

That night, a gargling sound, followed by a spit came from behind younger Sam's bathroom door. When the door opened, Sam walked out into her room, barefoot and in her black pajama set.

Before she headed for her bed, she picked up her cellphone on her desk and turned it on. She swiped the screen a couple of times.

"No missed calls," she said with a frustrated grunt. "Where are Danny and Tucker?"

Sam gasped at the sudden freezing sensation on her bare arms. The chill slowly traveled up and down her arms, making her skin breakout into goosebumps.

"D-Danny?" she whimpered.

He materialized behind her, his hands on her arms.

"Hey," he whispered into her ear before giving it a kiss.

She twisted out of his embrace. "What happened? I was waiting for you to call or text as soon as you got back from the future!"

"Yeah, well, we were there for a while, and then when we got back, Satya was haunting a movie theater and…yeah, it's been a long day for me."

She pulled out her desk chair and sat down. "So? What happened?"

He grinned from ear to ear. "Sam, it was the probably the most _awesome_ thing I have ever seen in my entire life! The future, I mean, _wow_ , it was so—"

Sam put a hand up. "Nope! I don't want to know the details about the future. I'm waiting to be surprised. Just tell me where Vanessa so badly wanted to take you guys."

"Um, then I don't want to give away _too_ much about where she took us…basically, we saw Tara and my older self doing some ghost training."

"Really?"

"She has fire powers, Sam."

"What did I _just_ say about telling me the—wait, fire?"

"Yeah. Real, burning, orange-and-blue fire. She has that, as well as my ice powers."

"Wow, that's pretty amazing."

Danny leaned on her desk. "Yeah, pretty amazing alright…"

"Hey," Sam said, cocking an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"I'm okay."

"Uh, no you're not."

Danny sighed. "You're right, it's just…well, she's stronger and more powerful than me…I don't know how I'm going to help her when I'm older when I only have, like, half of her powers! How will I know what to do?"

Sam stood up from the chair and reached for his hands.

"Hey," she said, interlacing her fingers with his. "Stop worrying like a parent. You're not there yet. We'll deal with these things as they come, you know? _Together_."

"You're right, _again_ …heh, sounds like you're warming up to the idea of marrying me," he said with a blush.

Sam looked down at the ground, smiling. "Yeah, well…I did tell you once I couldn't imagine my life without you, didn't I?"

Danny grinned and leaned in for a kiss.

xxxxxx

That same night, future Sam, in her gothic nightgown, stood in front of her dresser. She pushed her long hair behind her ears and, with a delicate touch, removed her stud earrings, three on each earlobe.

As she put them back in their jewelry box on top of the dresser, another little box caught her eye. She reached for the black, heart-shaped box at the corner and opened it.

A soft smile grew on her face as she looked at the class ring she wore everyday in high school, along with her amethyst engagement ring.

Suddenly, someone hugged her from behind.

"Boo."

"Danny! Jeez, you scared me!"

"I tucked Megan in, and Tara was already asleep by the time I checked on her."

"Oh, good."

She spun around in her husband's embrace and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"So you still love me, huh?" he said.

Sam rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his chest. "Just because I'm upset doesn't mean I've stopped loving you."

Danny chuckled. "I know. Hey, I've got something for you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Come here."

He pulled her to the edge of the bed and sat her down with him.

"Do you remember," he said, "that trip to Seattle we took together in college?"

"Sure I do. That was when you talked me out of getting that tattoo. You were right in the end—if I had it now, I would've regretted it."

He smiled. "Well, remember when we passed that jewelry store that had that heart-shaped black diamond necklace at the window?"

"…Oh right, the Victorian choker! I remember! Gosh, I remember it being ridiculously expensive though. I mean, I guess that makes sense for a _black diamond_."

A shocked gasp escaped her lips.

"Danny, don't tell me you took the time machine…"

He held up a hand. "Don't worry, I didn't."

"Oh, phew. Good."

"But I did get a replica."

Out of his sweatpant pocket, Danny pulled out a velvet choker with a large, heart-shaped, smoky-black stone hanging off of it.

"Danny…how…"

He moved on the bed until he was right behind her, and Sam lifted her hair up.

"This was why Clockwork wanted me to come over today," he said as he hooked the choker around her neck. "This necklace actually serves a purpose."

"A purpose? What do you mean?"

Danny moved back to the edge of the bed. "Clockwork had been working on this type of technology for a while now. The technology's in this fake black diamond. Apparently, the pendant seals the wearer's present.

"So, say, somehow, my past self dies. I'll disappear because…well, my past self would've never grown up to become me now. Tara and Megan would disappear because half of their genes come from me. Our present would shake, and the world as we know it would change completely. But you would remember us, this reality. Your state of being would not change. You would not be affected by the world changing…and that includes our baby inside of you."

"Amazing…"

"…Unfortunately, the pendant can save both you and the baby until he or she is born. It only protects the wearer."

"So the baby will disappear?"

"Because the baby has left your body, yes."

"No, that's not going to happen."

She reached for both his hands and squeezed them.

"Do you hear me, Danny? None of that is going to happen. Nobody is going to find Tara and Megan in the past. We're going to be safe. _All_ of us."

"Well, just in case, I'd feel a lot better if you wear that necklace 24/7," he said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What about you and the girls?"

"I've asked Clockwork to work on mine next. With us secured, the girls are safe. Then, as backup, he'll work on theirs."

"Hang on, but if my past self dies…"

"Doesn't matter, you'll still stay."

"This is unbelievable…wait, so mine looks like the necklace we saw when we were dating because…"

He grinned. "I just asked him to cut the pendant into a heart, then I bought the choker separately."

"You really are a hopeless romantic."

She kissed the tip of his nose, then rested her forehead on his. Danny let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

"We're going to get through this," she whispered. "We are."

xxxxxx

...now if you lovely readers want, I can write a little side story about younger Danny and Sam that night ;-) I can tell you right now no sex happens, but, you know, it's still sexy hah Just let me know via PM or in your review!


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